Lithobraphino compar



(No Model.)

W. P. COURTNEY.-

'AU'IYOMATIG GRIP GPENBB..

No. 515,115. Patented Peb. 20, 1894.

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foomoaaooo@| WILLIAM l). OOURTN EY, OF OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO ALBERT BROWN, OF SAME PLAGE. l`

AUTOMATIC GRIP-OPEN ER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 515,115, dated February 20, 1894. Application iled July 3,1893. Serial No. 479,520. (No model.)

To all whom t may concern:

l'e it known that I, WILLIAM'P. OoURTNnY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Oakland, Alameda county, State of California, have invented an Improvement in Automatic 6mp-Openers;- and I hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same.

My invention relates to an improvement in cable grips, and has for its object to provide a mechanism whereby the grip is automatically released at the proper point, and in conjunctwn therewith of a mechanism by which 1t is retained in this condition until closed by the direct action of the operator.

It also consists in certain details of construction whichwill be more fully explained by reference to the accompanying drawings, 1n which- .Figure l is a side elevation ot' the grip. F1g.2 is an edge view. Fig. 3 isa detail View of the locking device. Figs. 4 and 5 are views of the disengaging device. Fig. 6 shows the d1sengaging device actuated by an inclined plane above the slot irons. Fig. 7, is a modification to be referred to.

The grip here shown is of the ordinary construction of the class known as side grip, and 1ts grip lever A is provided with a detent pawl B which engages with the curved ratchet bar C in the usual manner, when the grip is closed.

It will be manifest that the improvement may be applied to any lever actuated grip.

The special construction and mode of operation of the grip being well known, require no detailed description.

D is a vertical movable plate or bar held in guides E around the rear edge of the grip frame so as form no projection laterally upon either side. This bar extends along that por-k tion of the grip frame which its and operates in the slot in the cable tube or tunnel. At the lower end this bar extends normally below the bottom of the grip, and is adapted to engage with a fixed actuating mechanism within the tunnel so that when it reaches this mechanism, the plate is gradually forced upward by contact therewith. In a former patent issued to me May 9, 1893, No. 497,166, I have shown this device as consisting of a roller against which the foot of the bar strikes, so

that itis raised abruptly. In the present case I have shown a series of rollers E journaled between side plates F, and extending over a A distance of about four feet. These rollers are so journaled that the difference in height between the lowermost ot' the rollers at one end, and the highest one at the opposite end is about live-eighths of an inch, or sufficient so that when the lower end of the bar has passed the whole length ot' this device, itwill have been raised to a sufficient height to disengage the detent or pawl of the grip lever. It preferred an inclined plane E2 may be substituted for the rollers, and a single roller E3 journaled in the lower end of the bar D so as to travel upon the inclined plane, Fig. 7. The upper end of the sliding bar D is connected with one end of a bell crank lever G, the angle of which is fulcrumed upon the grip frame. The other end of the bell crank lever is connected by a link l-I with a slotted pitman G', the upper end ot' which is connected with a detent or pawl B, so that any up-v ward movement of the sliding bar D will actuate this pitman and the detent through the bell crank lever and the connecting link. A stud bolt H projects from the lower part of the grip lever through the slot in the pitman, and by this means the lever and grip may be actuated without interfering with the safety device, while at the same time the upward movement of the sliding safety bar D will operate to release the detent. Rollers are journaled in the guide pieces E in front of and behind the vertical bar D to form a bearing against which the bar moves, and by which it is allowed to operate in either direction when the car is moving.

In order to retain the detent outof contact with the holding rack C, after it has been disengaged by the action of the safety bar, I have shown a spring arm K fixed to the upper end of the safety bar D at its junction and connection with the end ot' the bell crank lever. This spring arm curves inwardly as shown, and moves over a plate or projection L upon the side of the grip frame so that when the bar is down, this spring arm presses against the side of the plate, but when the safety bar has been raised,'as previously described, the end of this spring catch is thrown inwardly and engages with the top of the plate or a suitable latch, so as to hold the bar up, and with it its connected parts and the detent, which is thus kept out of contact with the ratchet and prevented from locking therewith in case the grip lever should be drawn back While the parts are in this condition.

L is a rod connected with the bell crank lever or the upper end of the sliding bar D, and extending upward through a guide M upon the side of the grip frame, so that its upper ,end is Within easy reach'of the operator. This bar may be operated either by hand or foot. In the present case I have shown it so arranged that the gripman can by simply placing his foot upon the upper end, force it down, and as the spring catch K is only held by frictional contact, it is thus easily disengaged, and the bar B and bell crank lever and connected part-s are forced down into their normal position,which allows the detent to again engage with the holding rack and be operated in the usual manner.

When the disengaging device is actuated by a fixed inclined plane, the latter may be located Within the cable tube or tunnel like the rollers E', or it may be fixed above the slot irons as shown in Fig. 6.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Let-ters Patent, is

l. 'The combination with a cable grip provided With the guide and bearing rollers upon the rear edge, of a safety bar movable within said guide within the plane of the sides of the grip frame, connections between said safety bar and the detent of the grip, and a spring catch wherebythe safety bar and detent are retained in their elevated position when forced upward, substantially as herein described.

2. The combination with a cable grip of a pitman having a sliding and rocking connection with the grip lever and co-nnected at its upper end with the detent, a pivoted bell crank lever, a link pivoted at one end to one arm of said lever, and its other end to the pitman, a safety bar connected with the lever and movable in guides upon the rear edge of thegrip frame, a spring catch connected with the safety bar adapted to retain it in an elevated position, when raised, and the detent out of engagement with the rack, and a foot lever whereby the safety catch is disengaged and the parts returned to a normal position, substantially as herein described.

3. In a grip, the combination with a grip lever, curved rack and detent, of a pitman having a sliding and pivotal connection with the grip lever and connected with the detent, a lever pivoted between its ends to the grip and having one end connected with the pitman, a vertically moving safety bar connecting with the other arm of the lever, an antifrictional incline fixed to the cable tube and adapted to engage the lower end of the safety bar whereby the latter is automatically raised by contact therewith, substantially asfherein described.

4. In a grip substantially as described, the combination with a detent and the pitman connected with and adapted to operate said detent, a lever, and safety bar, of a pivoted link connecting the lever and the detent operating pitman, a fixed anti-frictionalin'cline adapted to form contact with the lower end of the safety bar whereby it is forced upward and the detent is disengaged, and a springactuated catch connected therewith and holding the parts in their elevated position, together with a foot rod connected with the parts and adapted to return them to their normal position, substantially as herein described.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set myA` 

